3382. And kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws. That this signifies by means of continuous revelations from Himself-that is to say, as by means of temptations, so also by means of these revelations the Lord united the Divine Essence to the Human-is evident from the fact that these words, “keeping His charge, commandments, statutes, and laws,” involve all things of the Word, namely, “charge,” all things of the Word in general; “commandments,” the internal things; “statutes,” the external things; and “laws,” all things specifically. Inasmuch as this is predicated of the Lord, who from eternity was the Word, and from whom all these things are, in the internal sense it cannot be signified that He observed these things, but that He revealed them to Himself when He was in a state of unition of the Human with the Divine.

[2] These things do indeed appear at first view rather remote from the sense of the letter, and even from the proximate internal sense; but still when the words are read by man, this is their sense in heaven; for, as occasionally before said, and as may be seen from examples given (n. 1873-1874), in its ascent toward heaven the sense of the letter is put off; and instead of it another heavenly sense comes into view, so different that it cannot be known to be from the same source. For they who are in heaven are in the idea that in the internal sense all things of the Word treat of the Lord; and also that all things of the Word are from the Lord; likewise that when He was in the world the Lord thought from the Divine and thus from Himself, and acquired for Himself all intelligence and wisdom through continuous revelations from the Divine; and therefore from the above words they perceive nothing else. For “keeping the charge, commandments, statutes, and laws” is not predicable of the Lord, because He Himself was the Word, consequently He Himself was the charge, He Himself was the commandment, He Himself the statute, and He Himself the law; for all these things have respect to Him as the First from whom they are derived, and as the Last to whom they tend. Therefore in the supreme sense by the above words nothing else can be signified than the unition of the Lord’s Divine with the Human, through continuous revelations from Himself. (That differently from other men the Lord thought from the Divine, thus from Himself, may be seen above, n. 1904, 1914, 1935; and that He acquired for Himself intelligence and wisdom by means of continuous revelations from the Divine, n. 1616, 2500, 2523, 2632)

[3] That in the genuine sense “keeping the charge” signifies all things of the Word in general; and that “commandments” signify the internal things of the Word; “statutes,” the external things; and “laws,” all things of the Word specifically, may be seen from many passages as viewed in the internal sense; some of which may be adduced. Thus in David:

Blessed are the perfect in the way, who walk in the law of Jehovah. Blessed are they that keep His testimonies. O that my ways were directed to keep Thy statutes. I will keep Thy statutes; O forsake me not utterly. With my whole heart have I sought Thee; O let me not wander from Thy commandments. Thy Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee. Blessed art Thou, O Jehovah, teach me Thy statutes. With my lips have I declared all the judgments of Thy mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of Thy testimonies. I meditate in Thy precepts; and have respect unto Thy ways. I delight myself in Thy statutes; I do not forget Thy Word. Recompense unto Thy servant, that I may live, so will I keep Thy Word. Open Thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law. Hide not Thy commandments from me. Quicken Thou me according to Thy Word. Teach me Thy statutes; make me to understand the way of Thy precepts (Psalms 119:1-27).

Throughout this whole psalm the subject treated of is the Word and the things of the Word, which are manifestly its “precepts,” “statutes,” “judgments,” “testimonies,” “commandments,” and “ways”; but what these signify specifically cannot possibly be seen from the sense of the letter, in which sense they are scarcely more than repetitions of the same thing; but it may be seen from the internal sense, in which one thing is signified by “precepts,” and quite different ones by “statutes,” “judgments,” “testimonies,” “commandments,” and “ways.”

[4] Again in like manner:

The law of Jehovah is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of Jehovah is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of Jehovah are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of Jehovah is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of Jehovah is clean, standing forever; the judgments of Jehovah are truth (Psalms 19:7-9).

And in the first book of Kings:

David charged Solomon his son, saying, Keep the charge of Jehovah thy God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, and His commandments, and His judgments, and His testimonies, according to that which is written in the law of Moses (1 Kings 2:3).

“Keeping the charge” denotes all things of the Word in general, for it is mentioned in the first place, and looks to the things following as being less general; for “keeping the charge” is the same thing as “keeping that which is to be kept.”

In Moses:

Thou shalt love Jehovah thy God, and keep His charge, and his statutes, and His judgments, and His commandments always (Deuteronomy 11:1); where “keeping His charge,” or keeping that which was to be kept, in like manner denotes all things of the Word in general; “statutes” denote the external things of the Word, such as rituals and those things which are representative and significative of the internal sense; but “commandments,” the internal things of the Word, such as those of life and doctrine, especially those which are of the internal sense. But concerning the signification of “commandments” and “statutes,” of the Lord’s Divine mercy elsewhere.

662. Everything that is in the earth shall expire. This signifies those who were of that church and had become of this quality. It has been shown before that the “earth” does not mean the whole world, but only those who were of the church. Thus no deluge was meant here, still less a universal deluge, but the expiring or suffocation of those who existed there, when they were separated from remains, and thereby from the things of the understanding that are of truth and the things of the will that are of good, and therefore from the heavens. That the “earth” signifies the region where the church is, and therefore those who live there, may be confirmed by the following passages from the Word, in addition to those already cited.

In Jeremiah:

Thus hath said Jehovah, The whole earth shall be desolate; yet will I not make a consummation. For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above shall be black (Jeremiah 4:27-28).

Here the “earth” denotes those who dwell where the church is that is vastated.

In Isaiah:

I will move the heavens, and the earth shall be shaken out of her place (Isaiah 13:13).

The “earth” denotes the man who is to be vastated, where the church is.

In Jeremiah:

The slain of Jehovah shall be at that day from the end of the earth even unto the end of the earth (Jeremiah 25:33).Here the “end of the earth” does not signify the whole world, but only the region where the church was, and consequently the men who were of the church. Again:

I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth; a tumult shall come even to the end of the earth; for Jehovah hath a controversy with the nations (Jeremiah 25:29, 31).

In this passage, in like manner, the whole world is not meant, but only the region where the church is, and therefore the inhabitant or man of the church; the “nations” here denote falsities.

In Isaiah:

Behold, Jehovah cometh forth out of His place to visit the iniquity of the inhabitant of the earth (Isaiah 26:21).

Here the meaning is the same. Again:

Have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood the foundations of the earth (Isaiah 40:21)?

Again:

Jehovah, that createth the heavens, God Himself that formeth the earth and maketh it, He establisheth it (Isaiah 45:18).

The “earth” denotes the man of the church.

In Zechariah:

The saying of Jehovah, who stretcheth out the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man in the midst of him (Zechariah 12:1),

where the “earth” manifestly denotes the man of the church. The “earth” is distinguished from the “ground” as are the man of the church and the church itself, or as are love and faith.